Beneficial Links
PLANS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
An overview of Benefit Resource offerings
Click on any of the following to take you directly to that section:
What we do
The value we add
Employer services
Employee services
Benefits of MasterCard
Beniversal Prepaid MasterCard for Medical FSA / HRA
Health Savings Accounts
MasterCard for Workplace Commuter Benefits
Tax-free Primer quick guide to legislation and benefits
What we do
Benefit Resource is a third-party administrator of tax-free employee benefits. We work directly with employees, helping them set up and manage tax-free accounts and save money on health care, dependent day care and certain workplace commuting expenses.
Convenience is the hallmark of the Benefit Resource service from easy card transactions to streamlined benefits administration.
Benefit Resource administers the following plans. Click on any to visit the page where we describe them in full for employers:
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), including Medical and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs)
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Commuter Benefit Plan (CBP) Accounts
The value we add
Tax-free plans provide employees with savings, flexibility and control. We add problem-solving innovation that frees employers from the administrative burden associated with tax-free benefits and gives employees the greatest benefit from their tax-free contributions. We add security, convenience and friendly, helpful support. The result is an added measure of service and ease that differentiates Benefit Resource in the marketplace.
Employer Services
CONTINUOUS INNOVATION YIELDS THE HIGHEST QUALITY SERVICE
Benefit Resource provides employers with a full range of services, including custom plan design and highly effective education and enrollment programs, time-saving technology, guidance and support on IRS compliance along with accounting reports. Ongoing employer administration involves the simple exchange of electronic files - a task that requires minutes each month.
Most importantly, Benefit Resource provides employers with comprehensive administrative support services. When we say our process specialists are dedicated, we are not just talking just about their work habits, we mean that HR directors work with one person who knows their company.
Employers seeking to attract and retain qualified personnel and contain costs appreciate the Benefit Resource service model. After all, when companies outsource benefits administration, they are handing over care of their most valuable assets - their employees.
Read about critical Executive Management Issues.
Employee Services
CONVENIENCE, SECURITY, PRIVACY AND CARING SERVICE
Benefit Resource provides employees with simple card access to their accounts, well-designed educational programs and online resources like Tax Savings calculators and worksheets that improve the accuracy of employee spending estimates.
Employees get an accurate picture of their tax-free spending and enjoy easy, online account monitoring and editing capabilities through a secure feature at the Benefit Resource website. We ensure that all employee tools are tested, intuitive and easy to use. Finally, we provide direct access to helpful benefit specialists, ensuring that employees feel informed and in control.
Try out our handy FSA Tax Savings Calculator and CBP Tax Savings Calculator. Download PDFs of Expense Worksheets for Medical FSAs and Dependent Care FSAs. Visit the employee resource page that explains how flexible spending accounts work for employees and how they can sign up.
The Benefits of MasterCard
ACCESS, SPEED, CONFIDENCE
Our alliance with MasterCard International assures broad acceptance among service providers and speeds the transfer of funds from customers to service providers. It gives employees easy card access to multiple tax-free accounts and adds yet another level of security - cardholders are protected from unauthorized purchase if their card is ever lost or stolen.
Medical Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursment Accounts
JUST ONE CARD TO HANDLE MORE THAN ONE MEDICAL ACCOUNT
Benefit Resource makes it easy for employees to take advantage of the full array of tax-free options. Employees can use one card, the Beniversal Prepaid MasterCard to access their FSA and HRA medical funds. The Beniversal Card is a stored value solution that accesses various tax-free medical accounts as employees use the card to pay for services. It is the ideal companion card to health care insurance cards.
Beniversal Card
Commuter Benefit Plans
THE STREAMLINED SOLUTION FOR WORKPLACE COMMUTING
With a Benefit Resource Commuter Benefit Plan, employees can set up Mass Transit Accounts funded by payroll deductions to pay for qualified commuter transit expenses whether by bus, train, subway, van pool, etc. And they can set up Parking Accounts to pay for parking near their place of work or near commuter transit centers, although not at their residences.
eTRAC Card Beniversal Card
INSTANT ACCESS TO COMMUTER BENEFIT FUNDS
Employees have instant access to workplace commuting funds on an eTRAC Card or a Beniversal Card - a stored value solution that reduces balances in individual transit and parking accounts as employees pay for services.
Widely accepted, the card allows employees to pay for eligible workplace commuting expenses at qualified merchants throughout the U.S. and receive maximum advantage from tax-free benefits. The card increases flexibility for commuters by allowing them to tailor their purchases to fit individual commuting needs.
ADD POST-TAX DOLLARS FOR MORE CONVENIENCE . . .
The government sets limits on the tax-free contributions employees can make. However, employees can choose to add after-tax contributions to their accounts, allowing them to easily manage and track all their workplace commuting expenses. Employees can make all their eligible commuting purchases cash-free and voucher-free.
Tax-free Primer
A QUICK GUIDE TO LEGISLATION AND BENEFITS
Beginning with the Revenue Act of 1978, the U.S. Congress enacted a series of laws which allow employees, and in some cases their employers, to fund tax-free employee benefit plans. Contributions are made before federal income taxes, Social Security taxes, and most state taxes are calculated.
Using tax-free funds effectively lowers the cost of health care, dependent day care and certain workplace commuting expenses for employees, while reducing their taxable income. Many employees use their tax-free accounts to supplement lower premium, High Deductible Health Plans.
And, unlike insurance plans that require consumers to choose among lists of approved services and providers, tax-free benefit plans give consumers more choice, flexibility and control over how their dollars are spent; hence the term consumer-driven benefit plans.
FLEXIBLE BENEFIT PLANS
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 125, part of the Revenue Act of 1978, provides for Flexible Benefit Plans, including Medical Flexible Spending Accounts (Medical FSAs) and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (Dependent Care FSAs).
Medical Flexible Spending Accounts are funded by individual employee payroll deductions. Employees set aside tax-free dollars to pay for a wide variety of health care expenses, ranging from co-pays and lab fees to the cost of certain over-the-counter medical items.
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts help employees pay for dependent care for children age 13 or younger and for dependent adults who are incapable of self care if that care enables the employee and their spouse to work, search for work or attend school full time.
More time to use funds
Use-or-lose provisions once required employees to forfeit unused dollars in their flexible spending accounts at the end of each plan year. However, in 2005 employers were empowered to extend the grace period in which employees can spend yearly tax-free contributions by up to 2.5 months. Contributions do not technically roll-over into the following plan year, but employees receive extra time in which to spend unused account balances from the previous year. However, employees must forfeit unused FSA balances at the end of the plan year and grace period.
Forecasting how much your employees spend
Although the government places no limits on individual contributions to FSAs, employers may set minimum and maximum contribution limits. Therefore, an important element for employees is accurate forecasting, which is why Benefit Resource provides employees with extensive resources to support accurate forecasting and informed choices.
HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ACCOUNTS
Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) created in 2002, are funded completely by the employer, with tax-free funds. Many employers offer HRAs in conjunction with higher-deductible, lower-premium health care insurance, allowing employees to use HRA funds to pay all or part of the deductibles as well as other eligible medical expenses not covered by insurance.
Balances in Health Reimbursement Accounts can roll-over into the following year. HRAs can be offered in conjunction with employee-funded Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts, which allow tax-free contributions from both employees and employers.
HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created under the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement Act of 2003 and were further expanded under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. HSAs are tax-advantaged accounts that allow both employees and employers to save funds for out-of-pocket medical expenses. HSAs must be offered in conjunction with an HSA-compatible health plan (also referred to as a qualified High Deductible Health Plan). These plans typically provide lower premiums allowing employers and employees to use these savings to fund the account. The HSA is used to save for out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles and co-insurance. It can also be used on items not covered by the plan, such as dental, vision and chiropractic. An HSA is the only account to provide triple tax-benefit - funds go into the account tax-free, grow tax-deferred, and remain tax-free when used for qualified medical expenses.
HSAs have some unique qualities when compared to other savings options. First, the accounts are owned by the individual employees. Because of this, funds remain with the employee even if employment changes. The funds carry over from year to year and earn interest or can be invested. Employees are also responsible for reporting contributions and distributions from the account. Additionally, there is no claims adjudication process required for HSAs.
BENEFIT CREDITS
Benefit credits are a special option of Flexible Benefit Plans. Employers offer benefit credits to employees, which employees can use to purchase certain benefits. Benefit credits can be structured so that employees can purchase certain core benefits to deposit into Flexible Spending Accounts or use the credits to buy other insurance coverage. Benefit Resource specialists consult with employers to set up customized programs.
COMMUTER BENEFIT PLANS
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 26 USC Section 132(f) governs commuter benefits. Since the early 1990s, the U.S. Congress has expanded the range of commuter benefits that employers can offer their employees, principally through provisions of The Energy Policy Act of 1992, The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, and The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), passed in 1998.
As a result, employees can use tax-free dollars to pay for qualified mass transit and parking expenses associated with their workplace commute. Once again, tax-free accounts allow employees to save 30 to 40 percent on their out-of-pocket expenses for eligible mass transit and parking while reducing their overall tax burden.
Employers reduce their payroll taxes, eliminating FICA, on any dollars that employees set aside in tax-free accounts.
The Beniversal and eTRAC Prepaid MasterCards are issued by The Bancorp Bank pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated.